LaundryMat unwritten rules.

[cosmosdan]

Okay. I've lived in several places over the years where I've used laundrymats. I live in a complex now and the laundrymat is the next building over. Very close and convienient.

In the last few weeks there's been several people who don't come get their clothes
when they're done and they just sit in the dryer while others are waiting to use them. I'd really rather not touch some strangers laundry but when I need a dryer and their clothers are done I have moved them to the folding table.

A couple of weeks ago someone left a nasty note after I did that even though the laundrymat was going to close and a couple of people were waiting. A few times since then with people leaving clothes in the dryer for an hour or so after it stopped.

Am I crazy or or is this incredibly inconsiderate of your neighbors? My understanding of the unwritten rules of laundrymats is that if you're not there when the dryer stops it's your own dam fault and whoever is waiting has every right to take them out.

What say Dopers? Are there any unwritten laundrymat rules?

[Bearflag70]

Originally Posted by cosmosdan

My understanding of the unwritten rules of laundrymats is that if you're not there when the dryer stops it's your own dam fault and whoever is waiting has every right to take them out.

I agree completely. It also aplies to washers.

Also, clean out the damn lint trap, lazy bastards!

[Billy Powell]

I think if there's an attendant, you should try to get them to take the clothes out. Failing that, remove them yourself. I'd be slightly peeved if someone touched my stuff 5 minutes after the dry cycle ended and I happened to be out having a smoke or something, and there would be some words exchanged, but much beyond 15 minutes, or so, just to be courteous, only a filthy dog is going to complain about the fact that someone else needs to have their clothes dry and free from mildew within the next century.

[Bearflag70]

Originally Posted by Billy Powell

I'd be slightly peeved if someone touched my stuff 5 minutes after the dry cycle ended and I happened to be out having a smoke or something, and there would be some words exchanged, but much beyond 15 minutes, or so ... <snip>

2 minutes, maybe on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

5 minutes is excessive.

15 minutes is an eternity.

There's no reason other people should have to sit around nose-picking while waiting for others to finish their smokes, especially when the offender should know when the cycle will finish and should be prepared to remove the clothes immediately after the cycle is complete.

[Scarlett67]

You are correct. Watch your damn laundry!! Also, don't take your items out of the dryer one by one to fold them while people are waiting. That's what baskets are for.

Scarlett, sooooooo glad that we finally have our own private washer & dryer

[levdrakon]

Okay, here's one for you. You're using a laundry also used by another tenant you're on friendly terms with. Not super friendly or anything.

You're late getting back to the dryer one day and this friendly other tenant takes your clothes out, and I guess because you're all friendly and stuff - folds them for you.

On another day this tenant is late getting back to the dryer. Do you take the clothes out and toss them on the folding table, or are you now obligated to fold this person's clothes?

Or do you just say "screw it, I'll just wait as long as I have to, cause I ain't folding someone else's clothes." (which is what I did.)

[Bearflag70]

Originally Posted by levdrakon

Okay, here's one for you. You're using a laundry also used by another tenant you're on friendly terms with. Not super friendly or anything.

You're late getting back to the dryer one day and this friendly other tenant takes your clothes out, and I guess because you're all friendly and stuff - folds them for you.

On another day this tenant is late getting back to the dryer. Do you take the clothes out and toss them on the folding table, or are you now obligated to fold this person's clothes?

Or do you just say "screw it, I'll just wait as long as I have to, cause I ain't folding someone else's clothes." (which is what I did.)

If I'm pushed for time, I would just toss 'em and explain later that I would have folded them, but I was pushed for time.

If I was not pushed for time, I would do either of the following:

(1) say "screw it, I'll just wait as long as I have to, cause I ain't folding someone else's clothes" or

(2) toss 'em and explain later that I would have folded them, but I was pushed for time

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by Bearflag70

2 minutes, maybe on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

5 minutes is excessive.

15 minutes is an eternity.

There's no reason other people should have to sit around nose-picking while waiting for others to finish their smokes, especially when the offender should know when the cycle will finish and should be prepared to remove the clothes immediately after the cycle is complete.

I agree. I try to wait because I'd really rather not handle a strangers undergarments. In fact if I have a couple of stopped dryers to pick from I'll look for Jeans or towels rather than socks and unmentionables. {Does that mean I'm a pussy?}

I learned in the past that if you're not there when it stops turning and people are waiting, it's you're own dam fault and not to get annoyed at people who are waiting in line. That was a while ago so I thought there may have been a rule change.

I got the nasty note when it was appraoaching closing time and the doors would be locked. I really couldn't wait. One lady complained about someone taking her clothes out before it had stopped. {In a nice way} Turns out it was me so I assured her that I wouldn't do that and her dryer had indeed stopped.

I've wondered a little about someone doing something to my clothes to "get even" I think the lady that left me the note opened the door and turned my dryer off, but I can't be 100% on that.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by Bearflag70

If I'm pushed for time, I would just toss 'em and explain later that I would have folded them, but I was pushed for time.

If I was not pushed for time, I would do either of the following:

(1) say "screw it, I'll just wait as long as I have to, cause I ain't folding someone else's clothes" or

(2) toss 'em and explain later that I would have folded them, but I was pushed for time

Well done. funny.


I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd probably fold that one time to repay {not underwear} but I wouldn't want a routine to develop. I barely dold my own. Hangers a must.

[Sgt.Pepper]

Regarding the folding, I'd rather not fold somone else's clothes, and I'd rather not someone fold mine. That's only because I like my clothes folded a certain way and they may not fold them that way. Likewise, they may have certain stadards regarding clothes folding that I may not adhere to, so I wouldn't be inclined to fold someone elses clothes.

After a certain amount of time after coming out of the dryer and being folded, the clothes kinda get set in the way they've been folded. The same applies to wrinkles, but that's their problem for not being there to take their clothes out.

[Annie-Xmas]

I go to a public laundry where you pay for the machines. Sometimes a person will give me a dryer with some time left on it because their clothes are already dry. I've often wondered if I should reimburse them for their time that I used--since a quarter buys eight minutes of dryer time, if they give me their four minutes, should I offer them 15 cents or the complete quarter or nothing?

[Duck Duck Goose]

Annie: No. It's a charitable act on their part. You detract from the warm-hearted impulsiveness of the gesture if you offer to anal-retentively pay for it.

******

I don't understand why anybody would have a problem taking other people's underwear out of a washer or dryer: they're clean, aren't they? It isn't any worse than touching a piece of underwear at Wal-Mart. Just grab the whole bundle and heave it outta there.

******

To address the OP:

For me this is kinda a puzzling no-brainer: why would anybody spend more than 2 seconds thinking about this? People are supposed to stay with their clothes. People who go off and leave their clothes should be grateful that all that happens to them is that somebody took them out of the machine and put them on the counter; evil weird people do steal clothes from laundromats, not to mention simply dumping them on the floor.

Therefore, if you need to use a washer or dryer, and there aren't any free, and there's one there full of clothes that obviously have no owner in the building, you are perfectly entitled to unload it and put the stuff in a reasonably neat and polite pile on the table or counter. And you are not required to fold it. If their perma-press gets all wrinkled, that's their lookout, and serve 'em right for going off and leaving their clothes.

And this is why you always--ALWAYS--leave your laundry basket either on top of , or in front of, your machine with your clothes in it, in case some impatient fellow launderer doesn't bother canvassing the place to see whose clothes those are and just goes ahead and unloads them. If your laundry basket is there, then he can just put 'em in there.

And I speak as someone who did not own her own washing machine until after she'd been married for ten years. Spent plenty of time in laundromats, and trust me, them's the rules.

[Duck Duck Goose]

Sorry, this got left out.

or are you now obligated to fold this person's clothes?

No. Not unless you want to develop an ongoing social transaction/friendship with this person. Because if you do it once, then you'll have to keep doing it, and then he'll have to keep doing it--or not, which will then have its own ramifications.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by Duck Duck Goose

I don't understand why anybody would have a problem taking other people's underwear out of a washer or dryer: they're clean, aren't they? It isn't any worse than touching a piece of underwear at Wal-Mart. Just grab the whole bundle and heave it outta there.

Hey!! Are you calling me a pussy?? I kid..... I agree. It occured to me how odd it was. It's not exactly the same as wall mart. I don't buy underwear out of a bin. I buy nice sealed packages that don't have any stains on them. You've just developed tolerance from being a laundrymat veteran.

******

To address the OP:

For me this is kinda a puzzling no-brainer: why would anybody spend more than 2 seconds thinking about this? People are supposed to stay with their clothes. People who go off and leave their clothes should be grateful that all that happens to them is that somebody took them out of the machine and put them on the counter; evil weird people do steal clothes from laundromats, not to mention simply dumping them on the floor.

Right. That's why the note surprised me. I thought everybody knew that. One time I went in and A guy was really mad because someone had stolen his exspensive sneakers from the dryer. He looked at me kinda suspicious and was trying to discern what size shoes I wore. Not me pal.

And I speak as someone who did not own her own washing machine until after she'd been married for ten years. Spent plenty of time in laundromats, and trust me, them's the rules.

I may ask you to testify if anything goes to court.

[Kuizelemartz]

If a laudrymat is so crowded that people are taking a number to use the machines, I won't use that facility at that time. No way. I also don't stand/sit around while my laundry is being washed or dried.

I time how long the wash cycle, time the dry cycle needed and set my watch alarm and go. I was never more than 5 minutes late and no one has ever touched my laundry. Again, I think the key is to not go during peak hours.

One laundry rule I learned at the old place I used is, people do not speak to one another. I thought it was weird. I'd say, "hi", and people would just drop their jaw and stare. I'm glad I have one washer and one drier shared by 6 people now.

As a courtesy, if my laundry was dry before the time ran out, I would tell whomever was taking their laundry out of the washer that this particular drier had about 5 mins of free time on it.

[Duck Duck Goose]

Originally Posted by cosmosdan

I buy nice sealed packages that don't have any stains on them. You've just developed tolerance from being a laundrymat veteran.

I've developed tolerance from being a veteran of 31 years of washing BVDs with skid marks on 'em.

Also, ladies' underwear frequently comes on individual hangers.

But sheesh, guy, if it's got stains on it, they're still clean stains, eh? The nature of a "stain" is that it's inert, non-functional. That's what makes it a "stain" and not "dirt". All the active skid mark molecules have been washed out of it--all that remains is the memory of the skid mark that once was.

No, I'm not callin' ya a pussy, but...sheesh... Just turn any suspicious bits into the middle of the bundle so ya don't haveta actually, like, touch them or anything, and sling the whole thing out onto the table. Conquer your fears, my son, and claim your rightful place at the washing machine.

[Johnny L.A.]

[hijack]

Is 'laundrymat' a 'real' word? I've heard several people use it, but having grown up with 'laundromat' it sounds strange to me.

[/hijack]

[Finagle]

"Unwritten rule"? Every laundromat I've ever used has had it written in black and white that if you leave stuff unattended in the dryer, it might be removed.

[Hombre]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

[hijack]

Is 'laundrymat' a 'real' word? I've heard several people use it, but having grown up with 'laundromat' it sounds strange to me.

[/hijack]

It's as real as Burger King.

The word is Laundromat: "A service mark used for a commercial establishment equipped with washing machines and dryers, usually coin-operated and self-service."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

[Bearflag70]

Originally Posted by Duck Duck Goose

But sheesh, guy, if it's got stains on it, they're still clean stains, eh? The nature of a "stain" is that it's inert, non-functional. That's what makes it a "stain" and not "dirt". All the active skid mark molecules have been washed out of it--all that remains is the memory of the skid mark that once was.

So, you would have no problem rubbing some stranger's underwear skid mark stain all over your face if it came fresh out of the wash then, eh?

[Rico]

<mod>

After a wash and dry this thread still smells like IMHO to me.

Let's give it a little Bounce_TM over there, shall we?

</mod>

[Bearflag70]

Originally Posted by Rico

<mod>

After a wash and dry this thread still smells like IMHO to me.

Let's give it a little Bounce_TM over there, shall we?

</mod>

Nice puns!

::Gives Rico an all-tempa-Cheer!_TM :: YAY!

::and a Snuggle_TM :: (but I don't mean anything by that).

[wolfman]

I've had people fold my clothes while I was busy folding them

I used to live in a Neighborhood that was 85% hispanic, and the Laundromat I used I was usually the only white guy there. One time there were a big group of little old ladies speaking Spanish while I grabbed my stuff out of the dryer. I don't really fold, I just bend along a random axis or two so nothing hangs out of the basket. Suddenly one of them said something kind of scolding, stepped in front of me dumped out my basket and refolded everything.

I guess she just couldn't stand incompetant folding.

[levdrakon]

Originally Posted by wolfman

I've had people fold my clothes while I was busy folding them

I used to live in a Neighborhood that was 85% hispanic, and the Laundromat I used I was usually the only white guy there. One time there were a big group of little old ladies speaking Spanish while I grabbed my stuff out of the dryer. I don't really fold, I just bend along a random axis or two so nothing hangs out of the basket. Suddenly one of them said something kind of scolding, stepped in front of me dumped out my basket and refolded everything.

I guess she just couldn't stand incompetant folding.

That's awesome. Sometimes you just gotta love moms, and no doubt, these little old ladies were moms.

[A.R. Cane]

I don't get not touching someone else's clean laundry? Is this some new phobia? Do you eat hotdogs? Canned food? Do you know that the USDA has permissable levels for such things as rat feces and moth wings in food destined for human consumption? Do you drink water? There is a finite amount of water on Earth and it has been "recycled" millions of times, imagine where that glass of water has been before you consumed it and where it's going from there.
My granny used to say "You have to eat a peck of dirt, before you die", not to mention how much you will touch.

[A.R. Cane]

I'f I'm not there to remove my laundry from a machine when it stops, then I'm being inconsiderate and I will apologize for inconveniencing someone who had to remove them for me, as well as thanking them for doing so. If someone berates me for removing their cloths I may tell them "You're welcome".
Take a book, magazine or newspaper w/ you and stay until the job is done.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by Duck Duck Goose

I've developed tolerance from being a veteran of 31 years of washing BVDs with skid marks on 'em.

Also, ladies' underwear frequently comes on individual hangers.

But sheesh, guy, if it's got stains on it, they're still clean stains, eh? The nature of a "stain" is that it's inert, non-functional. That's what makes it a "stain" and not "dirt". All the active skid mark molecules have been washed out of it--all that remains is the memory of the skid mark that once was.

No, I'm not callin' ya a pussy, but...sheesh... Just turn any suspicious bits into the middle of the bundle so ya don't haveta actually, like, touch them or anything, and sling the whole thing out onto the table. Conquer your fears, my son, and claim your rightful place at the washing machine.

Very funny,,,thanks for the chuckle. I will try to raise to the challenge.

I think it's not just handling their undies but one day a lady walked in just as I was talking her undies out of the dryer.......because she was late and I had been waiting......really.......

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by A.R. Cane

I don't get not touching someone else's clean laundry? Is this some new phobia? Do you eat hotdogs? Canned food? Do you know that the USDA has permissable levels for such things as rat feces and moth wings in food destined for human consumption? Do you drink water? There is a finite amount of water on Earth and it has been "recycled" millions of times, imagine where that glass of water has been before you consumed it and where it's going from there.
My granny used to say "You have to eat a peck of dirt, before you die", not to mention how much you will touch.

Thanks for ruining several things I used to enjoy..

[levdrakon]

Oh yeah. I think the "those are my panties and I'm a woman so you can't touch 'em" rule is trumped by the "you left your panties in the dryer after the cycle was done and I need the dryer" rule.

You don't want your panties touched, don't leave 'em in the dryer.

[Audrey Levins]

Clothes fold?

[Cerri]

Originally Posted by levdrakon

Oh yeah. I think the "those are my panties and I'm a woman so you can't touch 'em" rule is trumped by the "you left your panties in the dryer after the cycle was done and I need the dryer" rule.

You don't want your panties touched, don't leave 'em in the dryer.

I solve the problem by not actually wearing panties. I have a couple thongs I wear for when I wear short skirts, but I just wash those in the bathroom sink with some Woolite.

Other than that, in my apt. building's laundry facilities, there *is* no where to sit around and wait, so I just come back later. If someone's thrown my clothes on the counter so be it.

Never had anyone fold them for me, but if they wish to, so much the better...well, the hubby's clothes, anyways. I hang up all my clothes in the closet (including my t-shirts).

Oh...and one last thing? Skid marks?? EW! My god, Duck Duck Goose get some baby wipes or something. They work wonders for preventing that sort of thing. =p

[Duck Duck Goose]

Originally Posted by Bearflag70

So, you would have no problem rubbing some stranger's underwear skid mark stain all over your face if it came fresh out of the wash then, eh?

???

Eh, what's your damage?

We're not talking about shoving your face in a stranger's undies here; we're talking about picking them up with the same fingertips that one uses to wipe one's bottom, pick one's nose, and clean up after the dog.

Originally Posted by Cerri

Skid marks?? EW! My god, Duck Duck Goose get some baby wipes or something. They work wonders for preventing that sort of thing. =p

Sure, great idea! But why don't you tell my husband that, seeing as how they're his BVDs?

I've only been mentioning it to him for 31 years now, but he might pay attention if it came from a stranger...

[Kalhoun]

Originally Posted by A.R. Cane

I don't get not touching someone else's clean laundry? Is this some new phobia? Do you eat hotdogs? Canned food? Do you know that the USDA has permissable levels for such things as rat feces and moth wings in food destined for human consumption? Do you drink water? There is a finite amount of water on Earth and it has been "recycled" millions of times, imagine where that glass of water has been before you consumed it and where it's going from there.
My granny used to say "You have to eat a peck of dirt, before you die", not to mention how much you will touch.

I don't use a public laundry anymore, but I always hated having to take someone's unmentionables out of the dryer. I don't want to know if the guy next door wears boxers, briefs, or a speed-o. Some things best remain a mystery. Second, it encroaches on a level of intimacy. I certainly don't want my neighbors to see my frilly underthings. That's reserved for invitees only. I have left my clothes too long a couple times when I was getting used to the whole etiquette of public laundering, but I learned quickly.

[lieu]

At around the age of 20, returned to a laundromat to discover to my undying horror and dismay that a half dozen Pop's Surf Shop Ts and an equal number of favorite jeans were gone to a thief who couldn't have had one hundredth of the emotional attachment to them as I. Quite possible that took a couple fortnights off my stay on this planet.

[Cerri]

Originally Posted by Duck Duck Goose

???
Sure, great idea! But why don't you tell my husband that, seeing as how they're his BVDs?

I've only been mentioning it to him for 31 years now, but he might pay attention if it came from a stranger...

Hm...maybe take the toilet paper out of the bathroom, leave a box of baby wipes on back of the toilet and hope he gets the hint?

Or you could just tell him no sex till he learns how to wipe his arse.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by Cerri

I solve the problem by not actually wearing panties. I have a couple thongs I wear for when I wear short skirts, but I just wash those in the bathroom sink with some Woolite.

Hmmmm......let me see if I can visualize that..........uh huh! yeah! ......okay!


Here's a unique business idea. Arthurs all nude laundrorama and grill.


Naw!! it's been done.

[Garfield226]

Dorm rules are similar.

Let's see...four wings, six floors, ~30 rooms on floors 2-5, 2 people per room in ~25 rooms per floor, 1 person per room in the other 5...so that's 220 people per wing, 880 people in the building. We had three washers and three dryers in each wing, plus a bank of six (or eight...can't remember) of each in the middle.

Even it was odd hours, I always tried to follow the courtesy of using just two of the three in my wing, just in case someone else needed the other one.

[hazel-rah]

At apartment complexes I've lived in, you're extremely lucky if all that happens to your unattended clothes is that they get taken out of the dryer. At the last complex I lived in, there was somebody who stole laundry and then left ransom notes for it, letters cut out of magazines and everything, next to the mailboxes. Other times your clothes would get tossed in the pool.

Years back at a different complex, if you left your clothes in the dryer unattended, somebody used to toss a handful of shrimp in with your clothes and then restart the dryer.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

I worked at a laundromat for awhile. People knew to ask me (the attendant) to remove things from the washers or dryers. I would do so and keep them until the owners came back. If they were from the washer and looked like they would be left overnight, I'd throw them in the dryer and fold them. People were usually aghast that someone else did their laundry and didn't ever do it again.

Originally Posted by hazel-rah

Years back at a different complex, if you left your clothes in the dryer unattended, somebody used to toss a handful of shrimp in with your clothes and then restart the dryer.

That's just fucked up.

[gigi]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

[hijack]

Is 'laundrymat' a 'real' word? I've heard several people use it, but having grown up with 'laundromat' it sounds strange to me.

[/hijack]

Heh. I always say "laundrymat" and was tickled to see the OP use it and folks follow the example.

[Max Torque]

If someone leaves their clothes in the washer for an unreasonable amount of time, you have the right to sculpt a laundry bunny out of their clothes.

[Anaamika]

1) No attendant where I am. I do leave, but I time it, and 99% of the time come by 2-3 minutes before the cycle ends on the dryer, and right as the cycle is ending on the washer.

2) I don't have any problem touching other people's undies but I'd rather not, really.

3) I've had two chemises (pretty, frilly undergarments) stolen out of my laundry. I really liked them. One was an ivory white and one was hunter green. I wrote an erotica that involved the green one. Bastards. I can guess what you're doing with them, you disgusting perverts.

[rowrrbazzle]

Here's why I extremely rarely remove clothes from a washer or dryer. One time I removed dry clothes from a dryer, put mine in and went away until they should have been done, I came back to find my clothes thrown around the laundry room.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by rowrrbazzle

Here's why I extremely rarely remove clothes from a washer or dryer. One time I removed dry clothes from a dryer, put mine in and went away until they should have been done, I came back to find my clothes thrown around the laundry room.

Exactly my concern after getting the nasty note. As it was I think that person stopped my dryer because my clothes weren't dry. How immature. You aren't back to take your own clothers out and when someone else who is waiting in line does you fuck with their clothes. I just don't get it. I suppose if I take someones clothes out I should wait with my clothes and tell them if they ask or get pissy. This person made a special effort to go home write a note and come back and tape it to the dryer.

[cowgirl]

I don't understand all this trouble. I spend a lot of time in laundromats and have never had any of these concerns. I just consider it a write-off of a few hours, grab a coffee and bring some reading, so I'm there the second the buzzer goes off.

I take all my 1st-string tops and pants home to hang dry. Otherwise they wrinkle and/or shrink, how do you people not have that problem?

What's left I run through the dryer for 15 minutes at a time, stop to take out what's dry (usually sheets and underwear) and put the rest (usually towels, socks and 2nd-string tops) back in; repeat until everything is dry. This takes way less time (and in a laundromat dryer especially, time is money!) and electricity, and has the added bonus of almost completely eliminating static cling.

Nobody ever touches my laundry but me, because I do my best to make the whole laundry ordeal take as little time as possible.

[Obsidian]

Originally Posted by cosmosdan

Exactly my concern after getting the nasty note. As it was I think that person stopped my dryer because my clothes weren't dry. How immature. You aren't back to take your own clothers out and when someone else who is waiting in line does you fuck with their clothes. I just don't get it. I suppose if I take someones clothes out I should wait with my clothes and tell them if they ask or get pissy. This person made a special effort to go home write a note and come back and tape it to the dryer.

In my freshman dorm, ignorant of laundromats even having rules, I agonized over removing someones clothes that had been left in the dryer for 1/2 hour. I finally took them out and FOLDED them, stacking them neatly atop the dryer. I put my clothes in, put in my money, set my watch, and go back upstairs. I came back down when my dryer should have been almost done, and found my still wet and formerly clean clothes in a pile on the filthy basement floor. The dryer was empty. The owner of the clothes I removed and folded had dumped my out for pure spite.

I later discovered an even shittier stunt people pulled. They'd wait until you set your clothes washing and left, then pause the washer, remove your wet, soapy clothes, pitch them in a dryer, and put their clothes in your water with your detergent-- totally free laundry! When you returned, you just assumed you were late and that someone who needed the washer just moved your clothes. Funny how it took twice as long to dry and your clothes were stiff and greasy feeling.

[Garfield226]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

I later discovered an even shittier stunt people pulled. They'd wait until you set your clothes washing and left, then pause the washer, remove your wet, soapy clothes, pitch them in a dryer, and put their clothes in your water with your detergent-- totally free laundry! When you returned, you just assumed you were late and that someone who needed the washer just moved your clothes. Funny how it took twice as long to dry and your clothes were stiff and greasy feeling.

Our washers locked themselves after you started them. There was a little port on top where you could add detergent or bleach or whatever (or I guess if you were malicious, whatever you wanted....never had that problem) during the cycle if you needed to. The dryers didn't though.

[cosmosdan]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

In my freshman dorm, ignorant of laundromats even having rules, I agonized over removing someones clothes that had been left in the dryer for 1/2 hour. I finally took them out and FOLDED them, stacking them neatly atop the dryer. I put my clothes in, put in my money, set my watch, and go back upstairs. I came back down when my dryer should have been almost done, and found my still wet and formerly clean clothes in a pile on the filthy basement floor. The dryer was empty. The owner of the clothes I removed and folded had dumped my out for pure spite.

Dam..you folded them and they still did that. Some people just have a real attitude about people touching their clothes. They don't seem to think they need to be considereate of the people waiting for a dryer, but get real pissed when anyone touches their stuff. How self absorbed is that?

I later discovered an even shittier stunt people pulled. They'd wait until you set your clothes washing and left, then pause the washer, remove your wet, soapy clothes, pitch them in a dryer, and put their clothes in your water with your detergent-- totally free laundry! When you returned, you just assumed you were late and that someone who needed the washer just moved your clothes. Funny how it took twice as long to dry and your clothes were stiff and greasy feeling.

Just say a big fuck you to your fellow man and save a few cents on laundry. Real nice. I would think it would be real easy to get busted pulling that one. Once someone gets wise or sees soap on their clothes then the culprits clothes are right there in the washer.

Tell you what Dopers. You've convinced me that if I have to pull someones clothes out then I need to be there until mine dry. Thanks for the input.

[cosmosdan]

Originally Posted by cowgirl

I don't understand all this trouble. I spend a lot of time in laundromats and have never had any of these concerns. I just consider it a write-off of a few hours, grab a coffee and bring some reading, so I'm there the second the buzzer goes off.

I take all my 1st-string tops and pants home to hang dry. Otherwise they wrinkle and/or shrink, how do you people not have that problem?

What's left I run through the dryer for 15 minutes at a time, stop to take out what's dry (usually sheets and underwear) and put the rest (usually towels, socks and 2nd-string tops) back in; repeat until everything is dry. This takes way less time (and in a laundromat dryer especially, time is money!) and electricity, and has the added bonus of almost completely eliminating static cling.

Nobody ever touches my laundry but me, because I do my best to make the whole laundry ordeal take as little time as possible.

When I first got in town I had to drive to a laundromat and I would spend the time writing letters or reading. Now my apartment is is the next building over and it's nice to just go home. Our dryers require a dollar and take an hour. Once you've paid the initial dollar you can add 15 minutes with an extra quarter.

[RTFirefly]

I think it all depends. Are we talking about a commercial laundromat with adequate seating? Or a tiny room in the basement of the next building over at your apartment complex, with two or three of each machine jammed in, with no seats and barely standing room? And how busy has it been?

When the machines are in your apartment complex, with nowhere to sit in the laundry room, then there's really nothing you can do but go back to your apartment for the duration. Occasionally you're going to not get back in time, so give other people at least a little bit of slack if you can. (I'd max out at 15 minutes of slack, though; after that, their clothes are on the table.) But if there's somewhere to sit down and read a book while waiting for the washer or dryer to finish, then you should have your butt there a few minutes before your machine should be done if you don't want your laundry moved to the folding table.

The other thing is the busyness level. If you walk in to any sort of facility - laundromat or apartment complex laundry room, doesn't matter - and all or almost all the machines are busy, then you should figure that someone might be waiting on your machine when you're done. So you should make much more of a point to be there when your load is done, and you should fully expect that your clothes might be moved if you're a minute or two late.